Ngoc Phu Hotel Chau Doc

Today i am making my way to the border to enter Vietnam, finally i can use the phrase "back in Nam" and not mean Twickenham ! The bus left at 08:30 to make our way to the border and it was still raining, a 6 hour jounrey in total. The border crossings here are so anal but there are somedodgy people around. After about an hour at the border we made it through and then had a 45 min jounrey to a place called Chau Doc.<br>As soon as we got there we were staright out on ...

... rowing boat complete with be-hatted Vietnamese woman as our Captain. She rowed us elegantly towards a fish farm in the middle of the Mekong. We had a 'touristy go' at feeding the fish which got very over excited at our visit. They flapped madly and soaked us. Mid flap my eyes met another's across the isolated floating fish farm. I soon realised it was Lou, with her husband Phil, that we had shared a cabin with between Russia and Mongolia. Random ...

... me point out that we might actually get it back...!!!! 15mins later I got a thumbs up for the guy and said the driver was on his way back with the wallet.. The driver returned with my wallet which he had put an elastic band around and everything was were it should be. Happy days and a happy tip to the driver and the guy at reception.. Out of gratitude we ended up staying at the guys guesthouse which didnt turn out to be that bad.<br>

... at speaking vietnamese. They had a field day with our camera, the children were particularly fascinated by the fact that our camera was waterproof and wanted photo after photo of them splashing about in the sea, never mind the stunning sunset I was trying to take pictures of!<br>We returned to Chau Doc a different way, stopping at Ba Chuc, a skull pagoda for the victims of a particularly barbaric Khmer Rouge attack. The drive back was more challenging, partially because it was my ...

... women are definitely strong.<br><br>After a while it seemed like we were getting in the way and stopping them from working properly. So back to the boat and off to the next destination, a small town called Hoang Thai. Armed with our ponchos we stepped back onto land and were shown around a small market. Lan told us that he comes he with many tourists and likes to introduce them to some of his friends. At the rear of the market was a small stall of ...

... travelling up the coast into Thailand..........Definately a country we will miss...............and friendly people like i have never met before ............... So Cambodia is behind us ...........but still on the coast the beach life continues...............in fact, we have really splashed the cash on this Island (Koh Chang) and have booked 2 nights in some swanky bungalows on the sea.......and then 2 nights in a swanky swanky hotel ...........In their ...

... markets. These markets are in a steady decline with the increase in decent roads and bridges in the area. This was clear to see. Although there were quite a few boats around filled with fruit and veg, there didn't seem to be alot of buyers around. Its a pity really to see a large part of the culture in this area disappear. Our boat driver also took us a little further along the river where we had a stroll ...

... everyone was rendered speechless. We crossed the bridge and scrambled down the embankment, back onto the boat and away. I have no idea why we did it. I thought it was hilarious and definitely the highlight of the tour. The German couple don't know what they missed. We arrived back at Can Tho for lunch before once more plummeting into total confusion, the guide had no idea and kept giving contradictory instructions. There were four different groups to be separated, the two day tour and ...

As I road in the back of the cyclo to the docks where'd I'd soon be sailing down the Mekong into Cambodia, I thought about my incredible journey in Vietnam. I'd seen so many amazing things, met some incredible people (most of whom I hope to be in touch with for a lifetime) and had one memorable adventure after another. I realized at the very least that having cancer has taught me to take nothing for granted... to live each moment as if it's your last and to say 'why ...

... so just mostly ate bun. Bill saw a case of chocolate coins for sale, they were a Canadian quarter! We missed the rain, but 1 lane of the road was flooded in spots. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City at 11:20 (7 hours and 20 min later - dang!). The driver was taking drop off requests from Vietnamese people, but dumped us off at some designated spot, but there were no tuk tuks or taxis and it was raining. We walked up to the corner and woke up a taxi driver. He ...